Archives for August 2017

A White Deer woman was found dead on a family ranch in Donley County last Wednesday, August 23, apparently run over by her own vehicle.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said the body of 52-year-old Ramona Freeman was discovered about 11:28 a.m. pinned under her vehicle near a gate entrance in the middle of a pasture northeast of Clarendon near County Road O.

The sheriff said it appeared Mrs. Freeman had been deceased for at least two days.

An autopsy was conducted on August 24, and preliminary results show the cause of death was asphyxiation, Blackburn said.

The sheriff said his office is still investigating the case this week.

According to an obituary in the Amarillo Globe-News, Mrs. Freeman was a 1983 graduate of Wheeler High School and an accomplished athlete in high school and college in golfing. She coached and taught in White Deer, Canadian, Highland Park, Borger, and Pampa.

Mrs. Freeman is survived by her husband, Johnny Freeman; four children, Skylar Rhea-Lynn Freeman, John Payton Freeman, both of White Deer, Amanda Freeman Saffel and husband Phillip and their children Olivia and Everett of Lubbock; and Justin Freeman and wife Lacee, and their children Jaxon, Logan, and Hunter of White Deer.

She is also survived by her parents, Larry and Bobby Jennings of Wheeler; and a sister, Rhonda Myers and husband Dwayne of Samnorwood.

Services were held Saturday, August 26, in Pampa, and burial followed in White Deer Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Mona Jennings Freeman Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o White Deer Bank, PO Box 67, White Deer, Texas 79097.

Local law enforcement spent several hours on a manhunt Sunday after a railroad worker reported being robbed at gunpoint that morning.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office was alerted at 9:39 a.m. that a Burlington Northern Santa Fe employee said a man had held him up near the railroad on Kearney Street and taken off with about $80.

“He claimed the person had brown, very dirty, matted up hair; a cut on the bridge of his nose; a big gauge earring in his left ear; and appeared to have had one in his right ear that had been ripped out some time.”

Blackburn said the description further included that the man was wearing a gray dirty shirt and blue jeans with the knees out and that the suspect smelled bad.

The suspect allegedly ran east down the railroad, picked up a bicycle, and disappeared possibly into the trees, Blackburn said the man told authorities.

The sheriff’s office, along with the Department of Public Safety and Game Wardens from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept., searched for the suspect all day Sunday and through the night.

A search dog picked up no scent or tracks along the railroad, the sheriff said. However, the dog did find the victim’s pick up keys within 30 seconds where the suspect had supposedly thrown them.

“This alleged crime is still under investigation,” Blackburn said. “BNSF railway police are assisting with the investigation.”

Clarendon College is pushing back the start of the CDL Driving Program to September 18 and is shortening the program from a 16-week program to an eight-week program to better meet the needs of students.

Classes are set to begin September 18 at CC’s Downtown Educational Center in Clarendon and will be held Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The cost of the eight-week program is $3,000.  Because this is a noncredit course, traditional federal aid is not available.  Career Training loans are available through Sallie Mae, and a payment plan is also available through the college.

The CDL Training program will focus on basic driving skills, material handling equipment, basic maneuvers such as backing, docking, and handling; and safety measures.  Students will be taught to drive on various terrains, including city and country roads, and practice driving during both day and night time frames.

Instruction will include time in the classroom, Clarendon College’s new CDL simulator, and on-the-road in the college’s recently acquired semi-truck.

For more information, about the class contact Program Director Ken Carlile at 806-874-3571 or fill out the online contact form at ClarendonCollege.edu/CDL.

With just one week left in the filing period, the City of Howardwick has only one candidate that has filed for two positions up for a special election this November.

Mike Rowland and Sam Grider resigned as mayor and alderman respectively in July, prompting the city council to set the special election.

As of Tuesday morning, former city maintenance worker Donald Holladay was the only person who had signed up to run for Grider’s term, which expires in May 2018. Holladay resigned his city job the same week Rowland and Grider resigned their elected positions.

So far no one has signed up to run for the rest of Rowland’s term, which expires in May 2019.

The deadline for candidates to file for the special election is September 6. The election will be held November 7.

Clarendon and Hedley schools met the state’s expectations during standardized testing this spring, according to information released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) last Tuesday, August 15.

The state released the 2017 state accountability ratings for more than 1,200 school districts and charters, as well as more than 8,700 campuses statewide. The ratings reveal that approximately 95 percent of school districts and charters across Texas have achieved the rating of Met Standard, including Clarendon and Hedley ISDs.

Clarendon exceeded the state’s target scores in all indices as a district as whole as well as on its high school, junior high, and elementary campuses.

In the Student Achievement Index with a target score of 60, CISD scored 82, CHS received an 82, CJH was an 81, and Clarendon Elementary earned an 83.

The Clarendon school district and each campus also exceeded the state targets for three other measured indexes.

“We’re very proud of our staff and students,” CISD Superintendent Mike Norrell said. “It is evidence that hard work pays off. This is a measure of us based on one test and you always want to do the best you can and look for areas to improve.”

Norrell also noted that CISD campuses earned several distinctions this year.

Clarendon High School earned distinctions for Academic Achievement in ELA/Reading and Social Students, Top 25 Percent in Student Progress, Top 25 Percent of Closing Performance Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.

Clarendon Junior High received distinctions for Academic Achievement in ELA/Reading and Mathematics, and Top 25 Percent Closing Performance Gaps.

Clarendon Elementary received distinctions for Academic Achievement in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, and Science as well as for Top 25 Percent Student Progress, and Postsecondary Readiness.

Hedley ISD is scored as a whole instead of by campuses, and that school received a score of 81 in Student Achievement and also exceeded the state targets in the other three areas.

To earn a rating of Met Standard or Met Alternative Standard, a campus or district must meet the target on either Student Achievement (Index 1) or Student Progress (Index 2) – plus meet the targets on Closing Performance Gaps (Index 3) and Postsecondary Readiness (Index 4).

To view the 2017 state accountability ratings, visit http://tea.texas.gov/2017accountability.aspx